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Strategic Planning for CAA Boards: Setting the Course

Understand the importance of strategic planning for Community Action Agency (CAA) boards in addressing local needs and achieving agency-wide goals. Learn about different planning processes, the purpose of strategic planning, and board roles and responsibilities. Discover how to organize a planning committee, review past plans, and use customer satisfaction surveys to improve agency performance. Consider fiscal issues and resource allocation for effective implementation.

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Strategic Planning for CAA Boards: Setting the Course

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  1. Strategic Planning for Boards Setting the Course for the Agency A Video Series for CAA Board Members

  2. Implementing ROMA – A Video Series for CAA Boards

  3. What is Planning? • Planning is “Thinking before the action takes place” • It’s a process of consideration of what you want to accomplish and organizing activities to make it happen • It’s a way to assure that the CAA is providing services and strategies that are addressing the local needs that were identified in the Community Needs Assessment process

  4. Why plan? • The act of “planning” provides an opportunity for an agency or a community to step away from day to day operations and consider a vision of the future • It helps you identify where you want to be in 3-5 years • It allows you to consider how your agency will address its anti-poverty mission • A well thought out plan will help to unify agency staff (from all programs) and board members around a common vision and common outcome goals • Other purposes?

  5. Different Kinds of Plans • The agency's planning process can involve a number of different kinds of plans • Some of these are done at different times of the year • Community Action Plan • Proposals for Funding (beyond CSBG) • Agency Wide Strategic Plan

  6. What is the Purpose of Strategic Planning? • The addition of the concept of “strategic” to the planning process means that it is comprehensive and agency wide • A Strategic Plan is the document that results from the Board’s agency wide planning process • It includes goals, actions, and the means of measuring the achievement of (or progress towards) the goals • The Strategic Plan sets out the elements needed for effective and efficient work that everyone in the agency and all of its partners understand

  7. Agency Wide Strategic Plan • Some strategic plans focus exclusively on agency development and puts family and community planning in other documents • It is important, however, for the agency wide plan to include some reference to the Community Needs Assessment and what the agency’s direction will be in the coming year(s) to meet the identified needs

  8. Board Roles and Responsibilities • The board is required to approve the plan • specifically the “agency-wide strategic plan” or “comparable planning document” • The board is responsible for assuring that the agency-wide strategic plan addresses: • reduction of poverty • revitalization of low-income communities, and/or • empowerment of people with low incomes to become more self-sufficient

  9. Another Way to Think About Roles When developing and managing a plan: • The Board is responsible for: • Mission, Goals, and the allocation of resources to results • Appraising progress and achievement • Management is accountable for: • Objectives, action steps and supporting the budget • Demonstrating effective performance (measuring and reporting) Drucker Foundation Self-Assessment Tool

  10. Organizing a Planning Committee • Establishing a committee structure • Select a chair person • Maybe a member of the board • Develop a time line to identify committee meeting times, date of a possible Board “Retreat” or other planning events, etc. • Discuss if others will be invited to the committee meetings to provide input: • ROMA Trainer/Implementer, Program managers, Consultant • Other stakeholders: front-line staff, customers, key partners

  11. Review Last Year’s Plan and Progress Make sure you understand what you planned to do last year: • What progress did you make toward meeting last year’s goals? • What goals are still relevant and should be included in the current year’s goals?

  12. Use Input from Customer Satisfaction Surveys • The data gathered from customers related to their satisfaction with the agency and the services they received, can be used to put what you learned into your plan • How can you improve agency capacity, performance, accountability or any other issues raised in the data you received from your customers?

  13. Do you have sufficient information about: • Where do low-income individuals and families live in the agency’s service area? • Where are the areas of highest need in the agency’s service area? • Where are there gaps in resources? • Are there barriers to access in specific areas of the community? • What is the demographic breakdown of population in poverty by age? • Are there gaps in services for specific populations (e.g. child care/early education, seniors?) • Did our agency data showing that we served the population in need? Serve the population you thought you’d serve Not serving a population, despite data telling us there is a high need?

  14. Fiscal Issues :Agency Level Needs • Of course all of your plans will depend on your resources to accomplish them • Fiscal data should be available to help Board Members consider the feasibility of providing the proposed services and strategies • Output data (cost of providing services) should be connected to outcomes (cost of producing results) • The agency wide budget should be realistic in relationship with the strategic plan

  15. Agency outcomes are based on identified needs

  16. The Plan’s Structure • Executive Summary • Introduction: Purpose, Process, Stakeholders • Organize the content so requirements are clearly found: Organizational Standards, ROMA • Assessment Summarya. Mission, vision, values b. High Priority Needs (CNA)c. SWOT • Agency Goals and Outcomes • Indicators, Services, Strategies, Actions

  17. Developing Action Plans • Each strategy will typically have its own Action Plan • Action plans are developed by the staff responsible for implementing the plan • Action plans should include: • List of action steps • Resources required • Staff responsible • Timeline • Outcomes • Method of tracking

  18. Check Before You Finalize • Are the needs identified in the agency’s CAN being discussed and referenced in the planning process? • Do the goals include projected changes for individuals and families? For communities? • Are there outcomes for the identified needs? • Are there strategies or objectives that connect the needs to achieving the outcomes? • Do the strategies proposed match the level of the need (family, agency, community)? • Does the plan include how the progress will be tracked and how success will be measured?

  19. Taking Action • Approve the Strategic Plan and record the Board action • Identify Action Steps, that will include assignments to staff (and maybe also to Board members) who will be implementing the services and strategies in the plan • Make any recommendations necessary regarding how the Plan will be used to inform the Implementation Phase • Establish a time table for Review of the plan throughout the next year

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